California Association of Health Underwriters recently sent an email saying they are behind — naturally! — with their Political Action Committee fundraising. From the email:

The CAHU PAC has a strong record of effectively using the funds with which you entrust it. In the 2018 election, 96.4% of the candidates backed by CAHU PAC won their respective races. We seek to have the same excellent results in the 2020 election.

But, we are behind in our funding. As many of you know, in October of 2019, we transitioned to a new administrator for CAHU PAC that included a change in the way your contributions are collected. We now have a user-friendly interface that allows you to contribute monthly or on a one-time basis, modify your contributions and update your payment method.

As with any change, there were some hiccups transitioning contributors from the old system to the new one. In addition, we are still trying to reach contributors whose payment information became obsolete and may not even realize that their monthly contributions have ceased. If you are a current contributor (or think you are), will you take a moment right now to check your bank or credit card statement to confirm that your contribution is ongoing. If it’s not, please update it now by going to CAHU PAC.

Please support CAHU’s efforts!

When It’s Over, Will Our Health System Be Different?

Commonwealth’s David Blumenthal, MD, has a brief post up about whether our health care system will change because of COVID-19. Commonwealth will be tracking sentiments and is also taking reader responses. Find the post here.

NAIC Releases Annual Report

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners released its Annual Report. The report says NAIC is focused on the problems in the long-term care insurance market and continuing to strengthen health insurance regulation. Read the full report here.

MEDICARE/MEDICAID

Insurers Focus on Loneliness

SCAN and Cigna Medicare Advantage plans are leveraging volunteers to combat senior loneliness due to the pandemic. Some of the services include daily calls, handmade cards (some made by employees of the insurance carriers) and much more. Both insurers have been focused on loneliness as one of the social determinants of health even before COVID-19. Read more here.

Medicaid Boon Is Good for Most Rx Retailers

Most companies are struggling but Adam J. Fein over at Drug Channels says not so in the retail pharmacy world. In fact most, but not all, retail pharmacies will benefit because of the increase in Medicaid enrollment due to COVID-19 disruptions. Check out his post here.

TELEHEALTH

America’s Perception of Telehealth Is Certainly Changing

Telehealth visits in the U.S. have surged due to COVID-19. Sykes, a business processing outsourcing provider, wanted to better understand how Americans perceive telehealth now and how the pandemic might impact how Americans will approach telemedicine in the future. Sykes surveyed 2,000 adults from around the U.S.

Here are a few highlights:

* Nearly 42% of everyone who completed the screening question indicated that they were not familiar with telehealth. (These respondents were not qualified to complete the Sykes survey.)

* Over 40% of respondents are worried about the quality of care and accuracy of telehealth.

* And yet, 73% said they would consider using a telehealth service to be screened for COVID-19.

* More than one in 10 people said they’ve already used a telehealth service for something related to COVID-19 — most common among the 18 to 24 age group.

* 60% said the COVID-19 pandemic has increased their willingness to try telehealth.

DISABILITY

DMEC 2020 Tools & Tactics Webinar: COVID-19 and Beyond – Best Practices for Coordinating the FMLA and the ADA

Thursday, May 7 | 9a.m. Pacific

Managing absence and disability is more challenging than ever in the midst of a global pandemic. The rules of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) still apply, and many employers now have the temporary provisions under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) added to the mix.

This webinar will give you a full picture of the interaction of these laws and how they impact employees. You will learn more about the provisions under the FFCRA as well as what employers are doing to support their employees with COVID-19-related coverage when the FFCRA doesn’t apply. In addition, we will also compare the similarities and differences in FMLA and ADA laws, and share insights into how these two laws overlap.

FINANCIAL PLANNING

Secure Retirement Institute: More than half (56%) of U.S. Workers Are Interested in a Guaranteed Lifetime Income Option within Their Retirement Savings Plan

According to the new Secure Retirement Institute® (SRITM) study, more than half (56%) of U.S. workers are interested in investing in a guaranteed lifetime income option within their employer’s retirement savings plan if it was available to them. Of those who are currently saving in their employer’s defined contribution (DC) plan, 61% say they would be somewhat or very likely to contribute to a guaranteed lifetime income investment option. From the Institute:

Prior to the SECURE Act of 2019 being passed, there were significant factors hampering in-plan guarantee adoption. From the plan sponsor’s perspective, there were fiduciary concerns about choosing an annuity provider and the long-term liability of that choice. From an employee’s perspective, in addition to the lack of access to this option, the inability to move the annuity to a new plan if the employee switched jobs deterred employees from choosing this option.

SRI says the recently passed SECURE Act of 2019 makes it easier for DC plan sponsors to offer lifetime income options to their participants. The new law creates a safe harbor for employers that add an in-plan annuity to include as an investment within a DC plan, with new provider-selection rules. Read all about it here.

INSURTECH

Cigna, FINEOS Collab

FINEOS Corporation, a company that bills itself as “a market leader in core systems for life, accident and health insurance carriers globally with 7 of 10 group life and health carriers in the US, announced that Cigna Group Insurance will be the first in the U.S. employee benefits industry to develop and broadly implement the FINEOS Policy and FINEOS Billing components of FINEOS AdminSuite. As a long-time user of FINEOS Claims and a recent launch partner of FINEOS Absence for IDAM, Cigna collaborated with FINEOS to deliver the complete FINEOS AdminSuite, an integrated core processing system that consists of absence, claims, payments, billing, policy, and provider administration – all of which are configurable to operate independently or optimally as a full core suite as part of the SaaS delivered FINEOS Platform. Also included in the FINEOS Platform are FINEOS Engage for API-enabled digital engagement and FINEOS Insight for real-time analytics that utilize core system data to enable business insights and automation.

EVENTS

The 2020 National Medicare Supplement Insurance Summit set to take place May 13-15, 2020, in Chicago will now be held June 2-4, 2021, according to the American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance the conference organizers. The conference will take place at the Schaumburg Convention Center just outside of Chicago’s O’Hare airport. The 2021 conference will include its free day for insurance agents who market Medicare and other senior insurance products. Go here for more info.

CAHU Women’s Leadership Summit Rescheduled to August

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the CAHU Women’s Leadership Summit has been postponed from March to August 5-7, 2020, at the same location, the JW Marriott in Las Vegas. We are hopeful that all current participants, and those who were recently forced to cancel, will be able to join us in August. CAHU will automatically transfer event registrations to the new dates. If for some reason you can no longer attend, please contact Korey Platt by email for additional options.If you have any questions or concerns contact info@cahu.org.

LAAHU 2020 April Annual Sales Symposium Rescheduled to July

LAAHU will postpone the April 22 Sales Symposium, AdapTech until Friday, July 17, 2020. The event will take place at Skirball Center. More info at laahu.org.

Self-Fund SoCal April 16 Event Postponed

The Self-Fund SoCal 2020 April 16 event at the Woodland Hills Marriott has been postponed. A new date hasn’t been announced.